My favorite time of year

Dear friends and colleagues,

We are in the middle of what is not only one of the most exciting seasons for the Virginia-Maryland Regional College
of Veterinary Medicine, but also my favorite time of the year as dean. Even though this will be my final spring as dean, rest
assured that I am committed to making sure that the daily work of the college stays on track and that our relationships with
alumni and friends remain strong. I understand that the applicant pool for my replacement is very strong and that the search
committee has begun initial screening interviews. The goal is to have final on-campus interviews during the month of June.

In recent months, the college has continued its presence as a regional leader in the veterinary community. I spoke at the annual
conferences for the Virginia Veterinary Medical Association in Roanoke, Va., in early March and the West Virginia Veterinary Medical
Association in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., in mid-April. At both events, faculty and students at the college had an opportunity to
network with their peers and learn the latest in veterinary medicine. I am looking forward to the Maryland Veterinary Medical
Association summer conference in Ocean City, Md., in late June.

We have also celebrated accomplishments closer to home. In late March, the college hosted its Annual Research Symposium
Awards and its Scholarship and Awards Banquet. For the last time as dean, I provided comments for these annual traditions, which
recognize our students for their scholarship, leadership, research, and service. Many alumni, donors, and friends of the college
joined us for these special occasions.

Our commencement activities on Friday, May 17, will be a capstone to another successful year at the college. In just a few short
weeks, our Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, master's and Ph.D. students will be
recognized for their hard work in front of friends and family. They will enter the room as students who have completed a rigorous
training program and leave as future leaders in veterinary medicine, biomedical science, and public health.

The academic year may be coming to a close, but the dedication that each of you has for our veterinary college most certainly
is not. I thank you for that. As your outgoing dean, I am pleased to be a part of the college at this point in its history and I look
forward to seeing what lies ahead.

Featured Stories

Award-winning farrier blends art, science in equine hoof care

Travis Burns, the hospital's in-house farrier, has received national and international
recognition for his expertise.

Travis Burns discovered his calling at a young age. While visiting a family-owned riding stable in the
Great Smoky Mountains, he watched his uncle use both blacksmithing and knowledge of equine anatomy
to shoe the farm's horses.

That early fascination turned into a career for Burns and has resulted in national and international
recognition for his work as a farrier at the veterinary college. The college is one of only a handful of
veterinary colleges with an in-house farrier.

Burns' recent accolades have included being named an associate in the Worshipful Company of Farriers
and receiving a specialty "therapeutic" endorsement from the American Farriers Association.

Researchers find virus promising for prostate cancer treatment

Dr. Elankumaran Subbiah, associate professor of virology, and college researchers
have discovered that a genetically engineered Newcastle disease virus kills prostate cancer cells of
all kinds, including hormone-resistant cancer cells.

A study at the veterinary college has identified a chicken-killing virus as a promising treatment for
prostate cancer in humans.

Researchers have discovered that a genetically engineered Newcastle disease virus, which harms chickens
but not humans, kills prostate cancer cells of all kinds, including hormone-resistant cancer cells. The work
of Dr. Elankumaran Subbiah, associate professor of virology in the Department of Biomedical Sciences
and Pathobiology, along with Dr. Siba Samal, associate dean and chairman of the University of Maryland's
Department of Veterinary Medicine, and Shobana Raghunath, a former graduate student in Subbiah's laboratory,
appears in the April 2013 issue of the Journal of Virology.

"This potential treatment is available for immediate pre-clinical and clinical trials, but these are typically
not done at the university level," Subbiah said. "We are looking for commercial entities that are interested
in licensing the technology for human clinical trials and treatment. Newcastle disease virus has yet to be
tested as a treatment for prostate cancer in patients."

Powerful, superconducting magnet aids clinicians and students

The teaching hospital recently invested in a new magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) unit featuring a 1.5 Tesla magnet that is seven times more powerful than its predecessor.

A new piece of equipment at the veterinary college is letting clinicians and students take more detailed
images of animals, both big and small.

The college's Veterinary Teaching Hospital invested almost $700,000 on a magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) unit featuring a 1.5 Tesla magnet that is seven times more powerful than its predecessor. A Tesla is a
measurement based on the strength of a magnetic field.

"Our new MRI unit not only lets us take higher quality images, but also increases their speed of acquisition,"
said Dr. Dana Neelis, assistant professor of radiology in the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences. "Before
we had the new magnet, we were limited to imaging small dogs and cats due to the size of the unit. Now we can
accept any size of dog and can image certain areas on horses."

College to host Human-Animal Bond Symposium

The Human-Animal Bond Symposium will feature an impressive lineup of speakers, including keynote speaker
Dr. Aubrey Fine, a psychologist with more than 30 years of experience in the field of Animal Assisted Therapy.

Special and intricate connections exist in relationships between humans and animals, and the
Human-Animal Bond Symposium
on Friday, May 3, will serve as a gathering place to explore how those links influence fields from
veterinary and human medicine to social work and beyond.

The symposium will include the Booker Willoughby Service Award Ceremony recognizing
excellence in training, utilizing, and caring for service animals. Dr. Bess Pierce, director of the Center for Animal
Human Relationships, organized the event.

Astronaut offers a veterinarian's perspective from space

Dr. Richard Linnehan visited the college on March 1 to share his experiences as
a veterinarian in space.

He's traveled hundreds of miles above the Earth's surface, logged dozens of hours on space walks, and
touched the Hubble Space Telescope. Plus, he's a veterinarian.

Dr. Richard Linnehan, whose career included stints at the Baltimore Zoo and the Naval Ocean Systems Center
before joining NASA, visited the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine on Friday, March 1,
to share his experiences as a veterinarian in space with first- and second-year students. These students, along
with others in the college, listened with interest to Linnehan's story.

"Growing up, I always wanted to be a pilot and a veterinarian," said Linnehan, who was born the year Sputnik
launched and who was 12 years old during Apollo 11's trip to the moon.

SCAVMA holds Heartworm Prevention Clinic

SCAVMA Heartworm Prevention Clinic

The annual Student Chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association (SCAVMA) Heartworm Prevention Clinic was
recently held at the college. The mission of the program is to fulfill veterinary students' professional requirement
to establish a valid Veterinarian-Client-Patient Relationship. SCAVMA officer Laura Cincotti, DVM Class of 2015, coordinated the
appointments. Students created a basic medical record for their dog(s) and chose the appropriate product from a list of available
preventatives. SCAVMA officers and volunteers organized and set up the space, retrieved paperwork from medical records, and
arranged for a Merial-supplied breakfast for the volunteers.

On the day of the clinic, students provided histories, clinician volunteers performed brief physical exams, and blood was drawn for
heartworm testing (snap tests were provided by Novartis). Finally, with a negative heartworm status, students wrote prescriptions for
their preventatives and then received clinician approval and signature. The final step was to have prescriptions checked for accuracy
and filled by pharmacy supervisor Maureen Perry.

Heartworm preventatives were provided for over 200 dogs as part of this public health initiative made possible through the continued
support of Bayer HealthCare, Elanco Animal Health, Merial Limited, Novartis Animal Health, and Zoetis Animal Health.
Clinicians and staff donated their time and expertise, while Dr. Bess Pierce helped organize and engage others in the volunteer effort.

Development news: College receives its own HokieBird statue

Students and faculty members have noticed a "blank" HokieBird greeting them in the commons over
the last few weeks.

Here's the scoop: Clients Mike and Laura Hewitt were so pleased with the Veterinary Teaching Hospital's
services to Duffy, their Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, that they have donated a HokieBird to the college
along with an artist's services to paint it to a design of the college's creation. Duffy visited the teaching
hospital over the holidays in 2011 after he ate rat poison and again recently after consuming chocolate.

The HokieBird is a blank canvas for creative students, faculty, and staff who can submit their design
ideas to Dr. Frank Pearsall, director of development. Design templates for the front and back
are available by the statue, and
existing examples are available
online.

Welcome to the College

Dr.
Irving Coy Allen of Chapel Hill, N.C., has joined the college as an assistant professor of inflammatory
diseases in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology. He comes to the college from the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a research associate and postdoctoral fellow
at the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology has made several strategic hires in inflammatory
diseases and immune-mediated diseases. In his new role, Allen will join the college's growing team of
inflammatory disease researchers and contribute to the department's teaching efforts.

College hires Dr. Julie Cecere as theriogenologist

Dr.
Julie Cecere of Blacksburg, Va., has joined the college as a clinical assistant professor of theriogenology
in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences. She previously worked at the college as a resident in
theriogenology with a focus on small animal and equine reproduction.

Theriogenology is the branch of veterinary medicine concerned with animal reproduction and obstetrics.
Although Cecere will focus much of her attention on small animal theriogenology, she will also deal with
large animal reproduction related to horses, pigs, and camelids.

Spotlights

College opens its doors to public for Annual Open House

The veterinary college offered tours, demonstrations, and lectures for the public during its Annual Open
House on Saturday, April 6. The offerings included a guided tour of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital and
Veterinary Medicine Instruction Addition, family-friendly events such as a Teddy Bear Repair Clinic and an
anatomy lesson featuring painted horses, and demonstrations on horseshoe making and police dogs. The
Student Chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association hosted the Annual Open House with assistance
from several other student organizations. Members of the college's service fraternity, Omega Tau Sigma, also
collected donations of dog food and dog toys for the Friends of Montgomery County Animal Care and Control.

Omega Tau Sigma hosts Easter egg hunt

Families with young children had a chance to celebrate the arrival of spring at the veterinary college on
Saturday, March 30. Omega Tau Sigma, the college's veterinary service fraternity, hosted an Easter egg hunt
that featured games, a rabbit-handling demonstration, and a visit from the Easter Bunny.

Students recognized for hard work at Spring Awards Luncheon

The Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine recognized its award-winning students
at a Spring Awards Luncheon on Friday, March 29. Dean Gerhardt Schurig, who participated in his final awards
luncheon as outgoing dean, provided opening remarks for the ceremony. Dozens of student award-winners
were recognized for their scholarship, leadership, research, and community outreach.
Many donors who provided the financial resources for student scholarships also participated in the day's
festivities.

Awards & Activities

24th Annual Research Symposium held

Dean Gerhardt Schurig was awarded the 2013 Zoetis Award for Research Excellence during
the 24th Annual Research Symposium.

The Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine showcased its research excellence and
recognized outstanding researchers at the 24th Annual Research Symposium on Thursday, March 21. The
symposium drew 58 graduate students, of whom 40 gave poster presentations and 18 gave oral presentations.
Dr. Dwight Bowman, professor of parasitology from Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine, served
as keynote speaker at the symposium.

During the awards ceremony, Dr. Gerhardt Schurig, dean of the college, was awarded the 2013 Zoetis
Award for Research Excellence for his work in developing vaccines against bovine brucellosis, a zoonotic
disease that causes reproductive problems in cattle and undulant fever in humans.

Rachel Baum named 2013 Outstanding Graduating Student

Rachel Baum of Gaithersburg, Md., has been named as the Outstanding Graduating Student in the veterinary
college for the 2012-13 academic year.

Baum received her bachelor's degree in biology from St. Mary's College
of Maryland and will receive her doctor of veterinary medicine degree in May. In addition, she plans to earn a
master's degree in public health from Virginia Tech in the fall.

Dr. Zenny Ng receives Outstanding Student Service Excellence Award

Dr. Zenithson "Zenny" Ng of Rockaway, N.J., a third-year clinical master's student at the veterinary college,
has received the 2013 Graduate Student Service Excellence Award by the Graduate School at Virginia Tech.

During his time at the college, Ng has focused his master's degree in human-animal bond studies and pioneered
a number of animal-assisted activities through the Center for Animal Human Relationships, including the Paws for
a Cause and Books to Barks reading programs at the Blacksburg library and the Virginia Tech Helping PAWS therapy
animal program.

Terry Lawrence receives Staff Career Achievement Award

Terry Lawrence, retired graphic designer and medical illustrator for the veterinary college, received
Virginia Tech's 2013 Staff Career Achievement Award. After retiring in 2012 after 26 years of service,
Lawrence now works part-time for the college.

Among Lawrence's many achievements were designing the college's logo, providing the original concept
drawing and design of the "Running Together" statue that greets visitors when they enter the college complex,
and designing and producing the college's VM Magazine, internal newsletters, countless brochures, floor
displays, and banners. Lawrence also held a number of leadership positions in the college's staff association,
including serving as a staff senator and representing the Staff Senate on the University Council.

Ten students recognized as Zoetis Scholars

Ten second- and third-year veterinary students with a broad range of professional interests each
received a $2,000 scholarship from Zoetis and the American Veterinary Medical Foundation. Applicants
were evaluated based on several criteria, including academic excellence, professional interests, financial
need, diversity, leadership and potential for contribution to the veterinary profession.

Awards & Accolades

Dr. Sabrina Barry, clinical assistant professor of small animal surgery, achieved diplomate status
with the American College of Veterinary Surgeons.

Casey Carbaugh, third-year veterinary student, won the Virginia Tech Education Abroad 2013 Photo
Contest in the "Hokies Abroad" category. She was one of eight students in a clinical training program this summer
at various campuses of Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University in India. Her travels included field
visits to exotic animal farms, wildlife sanctuaries, and elephant reserves.

Dr. Clayton Caswell, assistant professor of bacteriology in the Department of Biomedical Sciences
and Pathobiology, received a travel award for early career scientists from the American Society of Microbiology.
This will allow Caswell to attend the Federation of European Microbiology Societies' Congress of European
Microbiologists in July 21-25 in Leipzig, Germany.

Dr. Marion Ehrich, professor of pharmacology and toxicology in the Department of Biomedical Sciences
and Pathobiology, has been named the Alumna of the Year at South Dakota State University. Ehrich graduated
from South Dakota State in 1968 and joined the veterinary college in 1980. She was also recently named associate
editor for the journal Neurotoxicology.

Dr. Robin Fontenot, clinical instructor of large animal surgery, achieved diplomate status with the
American College of Veterinary Surgeons.

Dr. Mark Freeman, assistant professor of community practice, achieved diplomate status with the
American Board of Veterinary Practitioners, specializing in canine and feline practice.

Dr. Natalia Henao-Guerrero, assistant professor of anesthesiology, was a member of the first graduating
class of the Diversity Ally Certificate Program, offered by Virginia Tech's Office for Diversity and Inclusion.
Henao-Guerrero completed 26 hours of training including core and elective courses in many areas, including
harassment prevention, generational differences, multicultural conflict dynamics, and recruiting underrepresented
graduate students.

Alice Houk, graduate student in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, was
awarded the Byrd-Dunn Award for the best graduate student presentation at the Southeastern Society of
Parasitologists meeting in Bowling Green, Ky., on April 10-12. Her presentation was "Cystoisospora canis—a model
for Apicomplexan tissue cyst reactivation." This regional society is considered the premier regional society in
the American Society of Parasitologists.

Gail Kibler, computer systems engineer, was chosen as the college's Staff Member of the Month
for April.

Dr. Geraldine Magnin-Bissel, research scientist and analytical chemist in the Toxicology Diagnostic
Laboratory, was recently awarded certification by the American Board of Toxicology. This certification is a
recognized asset as the college applies for accreditation by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory
Diagnosticians.

Dr. X.J. Meng, professor of virology in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology,
was named a Scholar of the Week by the Office of the Vice President for Research at Virginia Tech.

The Graduate School at Virginia Tech has recognized Dr. Shobana Raghunath and Dr. Noah Pavlisko
as the college's 2012-2013 Outstanding Doctoral Student and Outstanding Master's Student, respectively. Dr. Raghunath has
completed her final year as a doctoral student in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology and accepted a
postdoctoral position at the University of Southern California. Dr. Pavlisko is a resident in anesthesia and master's student
in the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences.

Amy Smith, instructor in the Department of Population Health Sciences, was named a Virginia Tech
Teacher of the Week.

Nate Tyler, support center technician, was chosen as the college's Staff Member of the Month
for March.

Dr. William Dee Whittier, professor of production management medicine, received the 2013 Cattle
Industry Service Award from the Virginia Cattleman's Association.

Ph.D. student Dan Youngstrom was selected to receive the Seventh Annual Storm Cat Career Development Award,
a $15,000 grant designed as an early boost to an individual considering a career in equine research. The award is underwritten
by Mrs. Lucy Young Hamilton, a Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation board member whose family stood the retired champion
stallion, Storm Cat, at Overbrook Farm. Youngstrom's research at the Marion DuPont-Scott Equine Medical Center, deals with
optimizing tendon regeneration using a unique bio-reactor method of stem cell maturation and differentiation which mimics
fetal development of stem cells.

The Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign awarded the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary
Medicine a Distinguished Achievement Award for the highest increase in total dollar contributions from 2011
to 2012.

Activities

The college's commons area will be renovated during the summer of 2013 with a new design and furniture
as the first phase of the library-commons renovation. The Vet Med Café and commons will be closed this summer
for the renovation beginning May 20 and will reopen prior to the fall semester. The second phase will occur in the
summer of 2015.

The Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine hosted 14 students from the University of
Maryland Pre-Vet Society on a tour of the veterinary college's Blacksburg campus on April 5-6. The tour included
presentations by the college's admissions staff, a tour of the college, sitting in on problem solving classes, and
dinner with veterinary students from Maryland. Dean Gerhardt Schurig welcomed the group to the campus.

Dr. John Clifford, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief veterinary officer, visited third-year
public and corporate vet med students on March 27. During Dr. Valerie Ragan's problem-solving class, the
students went over a case study of a possible BSE outbreak and conducted mock interviews with the press.

Dr. Marion Ehrich is currently serving as a permanent member of a scientific advisory panel for the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In recent months, she has been part of open hearings on problem
formulation for the environmental fate and ecological risk assessment for atrazine (June 2012), prioritizing
the university of endocrine disruptor screening program chemicals using computational toxicology tools
(January 2013), and performance data needs assessment for products claiming efficacy against invertebrate
pests (March 2013). Dr. Ehrich also attended the annual meeting for the Institute of Life Sciences in Miami in January.
She serves on multiple committees for the institute, including its Research Foundation Board of Trustees.

The veterinary college was well represented at the Society of Toxicology meeting held in San Antonio, Texas,
on March 9-14. Presentations were made by Dr. Bernard Jortner, professor emeritus of pathology, and
Geraldine Magnin-Bissel, laboratory and research manager, with co-authors Z. Zhou from Luna
Nanoworks and Dr. Marion Ehrich from the veterinary college, in a session on "New insights into
organophosphate-induced neurotoxicity: Pathology, mode of action, modulation, and protection." Posters
were presented by graduate student Javiera Bahamonde (with co-authors Dr. Bonnie Brenseke
and Dr. M. Renee Prater of the Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine) and by
Department of Chemical Engineering postdoctoral associate Era Jain (with co-authors Dr. Marion Ehrich,
Padmavathy Rajagopalan and T.M. Murali). In addition, the veterinary college sponsored
a breakfast for past veterinary and graduate students, former faculty, friends, and presenters that was
attended by 21 scientists.

Dr. Tracy McCracken, assistant director of education and training at the Center for Public and Corporate
Veterinary Medicine, participated in the USAID Livestock Emergency Guidelines overview held in Washington, D.C.
and networked with international organizations about potentially hosting veterinary students abroad. She also
presented a lecture on "International Livestock Trends and Global Food Security" to veterinary students at the
University of Pennsylvania and met with faculty there to discuss collaboration on training opportunities.

Dr. Valerie Ragan, director of the Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine, traveled to
Armenia as part of the center's grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agriculture Service to
initiate the DVM/MPH practicum for Cassie Wedd, a fourth-year veterinary student in the public and
corporate track. Wedd, who is also in the college's Master of Public Health program, spent a month in Armenia
conducting research on the understanding of zoonotic disease transmission at the human-animal interface.
Ragan introduced her to USDA and Armenian Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Health officials and finalized
the planning of the project while there. Ragan also worked with the Ministry of Agriculture task force working
to develop initial protocols for livestock disease prevention and response, initiated as a follow up to a workshop
she conducted in Armenia in December 2012.

Following a request from the World Bank, Dr. Valerie Ragan met with the rector of the Kyrgyz
Agricultural University in Washington, D.C. to discuss a potential veterinary college "twinning," focusing on
the curriculum related to the functions of national veterinary services. Agreement was reached on a joint
proposal to move forward on curriculum review and an initial scoping assessment.

Dr. Valerie Ragan worked with the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Pan American
Health Organization, and the Chief Veterinary Officer of Trinidad to finalize plans for Mike Neafsey, a
fourth-year public and corporate track veterinary student and MPH student, to conduct his practicum there
in April. He will spend a month in Trinidad to assist the Trinidad's Ministry of Food Production, Land and Marine
Affairs in obtaining baseline data to inform and make recommendations towards the development of a national
brucellosis surveillance and eradication program. FAO has agreed to fund his travel.

Dr. Gary Vroegindewey, director of global health initiatives at the Center for Public and Corporate
Veterinary Medicine, represented the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges at the American
Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Committee for International Veterinary Affairs in Schaumburg, Ill.,
on April 8-9. Dr. Vroegindewey also gave presentations on "One Health" opportunities, international disasters,
and global sustainable livestock production at the Student AVMA Annual Symposium in Baton Rouge, La., on April
22-23 and presented a series of lectures on career transition at the Midwest Veterinary Conference in
Columbus, Ohio, on Feb. 22.